Ride-on vehicles for children have become increasingly popular due in part to the desire of many children to drive self-propelled vehicles resembling full-size vehicles. Such ride-on vehicles are typically self-propelled under battery power and generally include scaled-down features of full-sized vehicles. Many different styles of such reduced-scale vehicles have been produced.
One challenge in designing a product line of reduced-scale vehicles is to ensure that the product line appeals to children of different sizes and age groups. However, a vehicle appropriate for a six-year-old child may not be appropriate for a three-year-old child. To this end, different sizes and designs of ride-on vehicles have been produced to appeal to different age groups of children, each vehicle specially designed to appeal to a certain age group. In the case of a vehicle usable by a small child, the vehicle design should reflect the inherent capabilities of small children. For instance, the small child may not be large enough to climb onto the vehicle unassisted. Although a parent or responsible adult may lift the child onto the vehicle, the vehicle should be designed so that the child can easily get on and off the vehicle unassisted if necessary. In addition, the child may not want to sacrifice his or her independence by constantly requiring adult assistance in using the vehicle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a ride-on vehicle for children having a mechanism for assisting a child in mounting and dismounting the vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for assisting a child in mounting and dismounting a reduced-scale vehicle, the mechanism being appropriate for use by small children.